Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, hatred and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans has increased. In New York City, anti-Asian hate crimes rose 1,900% in 2020. Many AAPI persons reported having been coughed or spat at, denied lift access, and directed racial abuse against them. There was news of older Asians being attacked and young AAPI children being bullied by their peers. Whether it is overt racist attacks or “microaggression”, it takes a toll: AAPI people who reported these incidents describe the lingering effects of depression and insomnia, and the fear of returning to where the racist acts were have taken place.

In response, a group of Kidlit writers and publishing professionals – organized by the Asian Author Alliance – organized a fundraising auction to crack down on racism against AAPI. The auction will take place on the Kidlit Against AAPI Racism website between February 26 at 12 p.m. EST and February 28 at 11:59 p.m. PST. There you will also find links to more information about anti-AAPI racism in the US.

Articles go up at midnight tonight, but many of the donors have already teased the offers on Twitter and Instagram! Judging from these brief glimpses, there will be a wide variety of auction items that will appeal to readers and writers alike!

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Some of the elements include:

  • Signed copies of a ton of titles including:
    • We are not free and the Traci Chee reader trilogy
    • Not your buddy from CB Lee
    • The love and lie from Rukshsana Ali and an ARC from Zara Hossain is here from Sabina Khan
    • The Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
    • The adventure is now from Jess Redman
    • Oona by Kelly DiPucchio
    • An ARC of Luck from the Titanic by Stacey Lee
    • All 4 Jasmine Toguchi books
    • Picture books love earth … From your friends in room 5 and Peter Easter Frog from Erin Dealey
  • The ability to name a character in an upcoming book, including Not Your Villain by CB Lee and a future book by Stacey Lee
  • Inquire reviews, craft chats, editorial services, or reviews in the first 10 to 50 pages from writers, literary agents, and other publishing professionals such as Sabina Khan, Naomi Davis, Paula Chase, Christine Ma, Cathy Yardley, Erin Sieu, Gordon Warnock, and others. These would be invaluable to new and aspiring writers!

Information on all auction items can be found on the KAAAR Fundraiser website February 26-28. To bid, comment on the post of the item with your USD amount. When you have won, you will be contacted by the Asian Author Alliance. Then donate to either Stop AAPI Hate Donation Page or Hate is a Virus Donation Page and email proof of your donation.

  • Stop AAPI Hate is an organization that publishes anti-Asian hate incidents on its website and supports “community-based security measures and restorative justice efforts”. They also advocate local, state, and national measures that strengthen human and civil rights protection and provide multilingual resources.
  • Hate is a virus that combats AAPI racism by raising awareness, educating AAPI communities about strategies to combat racism, and providing direct financial aid to small Asia-led businesses affected by COVID-19. They are currently raising a million dollars to fund community organizations that provide services to the AAPI community.

If you want to support a good cause while you fill your shelves with signed books and / or improve your writing skills, you should bid on the # KAAAR auction February 26-28! Here’s an Instagram post that previewed what to expect:

Full credit to Wendy Shang’s tweet for the title of this post!

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